The Red Lobster restaurant closed its doors Monday night for the last time at Buffalo Ridge Plaza in The Villages.
It was hardly unexpected as Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in May and other restaurants, such as the one in Leesburg, shut its doors.
Red Lobster was founded in 1968 in Lakeland, Fla. and offered slightly upscale, family-friendly dining and locations that didn’t exactly have access to coastal fishing. For decades, business boomed.
General Mills, which had acquired Red Lobster and saw much of its growth, spun out Red Lobster into Darden Restaurant. Red Lobster began to suffer when Darden began to divert more money to other restaurants in its portfolio, such as Olive Garden.
In 2003, Red Lobster launched a costly “endless crab” promotion which led to the ouster of the restaurant chain’s president.
Red Lobster was sold to Golden Gate Capital, which signaled the death knell for the once-beloved seafood restaurant chain.
